World
Pakistan appoints former spy as new army chief
Pakistan’s former spy chief, Lt. Gen. Asim Munir, was on Thursday named Pakistan’s new army chief after months of speculation.
Munir was approved by Pakistani President Arif Alvi after being nominated for the post by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He replaces Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retires next week. The job is widely seen as Pakistan’s most powerful government posting.
Munir is the country’s most senior general and closely aligned with Bajwa. He was picked from a list of six candidates.
Once he takes office, Munir will oversee relations between neighboring India and Afghanistan.
He takes over as the country continues to deal with the fallout of devastating floods during its most recent monsoon season. More than 1,300 people died within a few weeks of the start of monsoon season while millions have been displaced.
Pakistan is also in the midst of an economic crisis, coping with soaring inflation.
Though technically separate, the position of army chief often wields significant political power in Pakistan. The army has seized power three times in Pakistan’s history and directly ruled the country for almost four decades.
A major fire at a sofa manufacturing factory in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, killed 16 Bangladeshi migrant workers, officials in Dhaka said on Monday.
The fire broke out on Sunday in the Musa Sanaiya industrial area, Reuters reported.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring the situation, while officials from the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh are working with Saudi authorities to complete the repatriation formalities.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury has instructed officials to bring back the bodies as soon as possible and ensure necessary government assistance and compensation for the bereaved families.
With around 3.5 million Bangladeshis living in Saudi Arabia, the country remains the largest destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, who sent home more than $2.7 billion in remittances last year.
Israel has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace 15-point plan for Gaza, and will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread to other parts of his body and is causing him severe pain, his son Hunter Biden has said in an interview with the BBC.
“The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter Biden told BBC’s Newsnight, according to video of the interview posted online on Friday. He described the illness as “very painful” and “very debilitating in many respects.”
A spokesperson for the 83-year-old Biden declined to comment on Hunter Biden’s remarks on Saturday.
Biden announced in May 2025, less than four months after leaving the White House, that he had been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer. At the time, he said the cancer had already spread to his bones.
In October, a spokesperson said Biden was receiving radiation treatment and hormone therapy.
Biden was the oldest person to be elected U.S. president when he won the 2020 election. His physical health and mental fitness also came under increased scrutiny during his presidency from 2021 to 2025.
Biden attended the dedication of former President Barack Obama’s presidential library in Chicago in June. He served as Obama’s vice president from 2009 to 2017.
Biden’s presidential memoir is scheduled to be released on November 17.
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